Family and guests gathering

Moshi 22nd April

Donald and I are now ‘embedded’ at the Impala Hotel, which is just around the corner from where the wedding will take place. We moved in here on Sunday, just as Jens friends started to arrive at Honey Badger. (Some with luggage, some without!!!)

Family is gathering too – Hil and Peter (my sister) have been on safari for a couple of days, and we understand all is good there, they have seen lots, and, their luggage is now at the hotel awaiting their arrival – phew!!!

My brother and his lot also arrived in Moshi having spent a week in Zanzibar and they too have gone for a couple of days safari.

Both boys – Adam with Helen and Daniel with Vicky, touched down in Tz on Saturday, and are now having a bit of time to themselves at different locations, but all start to gather at The Impala or Honey Badger tonight.

Hil & Peter and Brenda and Ian will be with us tonight at The Impala – and us girls have been invited to Honey Badger tonight for a ‘kitchen evening’ – Lucy explained about it and it seems that the women of the clan gather to put stuff in a basket to prepare Jen for married life. I understand that there should be pots and pans etc. but not sure how symbolic it all is. I thought Jen should have been there too, but she and her girlfriends are out for a meal tonight, and Joey is with the guys. So I will have to represent her.

Another tradition (which I believe will be done on the Saturday – or maybe tonight – I don’t really know) is that the grooms clan present the brides mother with blankets and kanga’s – this is to keep her warm when she has handed her daughter over to another family. The theory being that the girl sleeps with her mother and so when she moves families the mothers bed will be cold!

Anyway I will be able to report what actually happens in a later blog. Lucy has told me the above and well we will see what actually happens.

The hotel we are at is one of the best in Moshi – but it is Africa and low season. The room we have is lovely – the hotel was once a private house and there are only 11 rooms here. We have what was the guest suite and it opens out onto the garden/pool area – its lovely, big and roomy. However it seems to be a very dark room – and on looking we noticed that most of the light bulbs don’t work.

Well this is the room which we will be using to dress the bride (did I tell you that the dresses are all here!!!! They arrived just as the heavens opened and it poured – just another hurdle overcome. Sure I did, but you can understand the satisfaction if you have followed the saga) – and I think we need light etc, so asked at the desk if they could replace the light bulbs. Well, says the manager, it is low season! Yes – and what does that mean – well we have problems with the lights in that room because the ceiling is very high – Yes – but …… A few other excuses were listed and I thought we were doomed to be dressing the bride in a dark room – but – later in the afternoon, the manager and his man, came along to ask for the key. They then clambered on top of wardrobes and stood, legs spread over two wardrobes, and managed to change one light, and adjust a few others, so progress.

The low season thing is quite interesting – they asked if we could pay for as much as possible with cash, because it is low season, and they need to use the cash to buy the stuff we need – food, drink etc. Tanzania is really a cash country – very few places take plastic (which is good as I suppose it means that debts don’t build up) and travellers cheques are just a no-no, but think that they dying elsewhere too. However, it does mean that you have to visit the ATM quite regularly – and as the biggest note is 10,000 – you can imagine the wedge of notes you have to carry around with you.

Yesterday we walked into town from here – about 30/40 minutes. Donald was really pleased to be ‘on the road again’, think he has missed walking. We followed a group of women who had huge trays of banana’s on their heads. They obviously pick them up from higher up our road and then walk them into town to sell. The trays were about 4ft by 2ft and fully loaded – we figure they must weigh 20kg+. Luckily the walk was downhill but some these women were obviously finding it difficult and kept shifting the load. On the way down we met some of them coming back up with empty trays, probably to reload and start again. If they were lucky they managed to sell some on the way, and so lighten the load. Its tough out here for some – possibly most!

We haven’t seen Kilimanjaro for a couple of days, the cloud is too low, and it has been quite wet and rainy – we are just crossing fingers for a dry days on Thursday and Saturday. When it does rain, it pours, but not for long, so hopefully we should be OK.

So the plan now is that today, Tuesday, we have the kitchen gathering for the girls (Myself, Hil and Brenda) and we will then join our guys later – hopefully it isn’t a whole evening thing.

Wednesday, Jen, Joey, Donald and I are going to the hotel where the wedding is to meet up with the band (The Tanzanites – who are coming in from Dar to perform, and who are apparently very well known) and also with the wedding planner, Monica. Monica is a family member who does this sort of thing for a living, and she is in charge of ‘dressing’ the room, doing the flowers and bouquets etc.

We then head to the District Commissioners office to do the legal wedding, this will be with immediate family only, ie parents and siblings. After that is completed, we will all, friends too, gather at Honey Badger for lunch.

At 3pm, Jen and her party will leave HB and come to The Impala where she has arranged for a couple of beauty therapists to come to pamper us. We are hosting the evening and hope to have a BBQ and salad for all our guests (assuming that the hotel has managed to get the stuff together, because it is low season!) and then Thursday it is The Wedding day.

Donald will be kicked out of our room, and the girls will come in – so exciting!

I will write again soon – but not sure when, as think I may be a bit pre occupied – I’m sure you understand.

Lots of love J